Thornton shoots Duke to ACC semifinals

ATLANTA — Entering play Friday, Tyler Thornton had never taken more than six shots in a college game. In the four games prior to the ACC tournament, the defensive stalwart had put up a total of 15.

But the 6-foot-1 sophomore found himself at the center of Duke’s offensive and defensive games last night, leading the Blue Devils past Virginia Tech in the ACC tournament quarterfinals 60-56, shooting the ball a team-high 16 times, with 13 of those attempts coming from beyond the arc.

Although Thornton made only five of his attempts and just three 3-pointers, his buckets loomed large as both teams combined to shoot 33.6 percent from the field. Thornton, who has hit a number of important late shots throughout the season, nailed his third 3-pointer with 3:32 remaining, extending Duke’s lead to eight.

“He hit one of the biggest threes of the game,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We won [the] Maui [Invitational] because he shot. I’m OK if we lose and he misses, I’m OK, because I know he’ll take the shots strong.”

Thornton also set the tone for the Blue Devils on the defensive end, swiping three of Duke’s six steals without turning the ball over.

Knowing that Duke usually relies on Thornton for strong defense and ball handling, Virginia Tech head coach focused his defensive efforts on the Blue Devils’ other offensive weapons, conceding shots to Thornton.

“I thought our defensive gameplan was really, really good,” he said. “We wanted to make Tyler Thornton beat us, plain and simple.”

Virginia Tech, which took the Blue Devils to overtime Feb. 25 by holding them to 6-of-24 shooting from beyond the arc, was similarly successful in defending Duke’s outside shooting in this contest, holding them to just 5-for-26 3-point shooting.

Unlike the last contest, however, the Blue Devils compensated for their offensive woes with a shutdown defensive showing, holding the Hokies to just 16-of-53 shooting. Duke never surrendered a second-half lead and maintained a buffer of at least four points throughout the final 20 minutes.

“I’m really proud of our team because we didn’t shoot the ball well, but we didn’t let that dictate our defense,” guard Austin Rivers said. “I think we’ve learned in that area. In our last game, against North Carolina, we struggled with our shot and had lapses on defense.”

Rivers paced the team with 17 points while notching two steals, playing all 40 minutes of his first ACC tournament game.

Along with fellow starting guards Thornton and Seth Curry, the Blue Devil backcourt aggressively attacked Virginia Tech’s ball screens, disrupting any opportunity the Hokies had to develop offensive rhythm.

“They’re switching really bothered us, we didn’t do a good job of screening on the end and it really pushed us out,” Greenberg said.

Some of the Blue Devils’ biggest adjustments, however, came in the frontcourt, where they played for the first time all season without forward Ryan Kelly, who sprained his foot in practice this week and will miss the entirety of the tournament.

Aggravating the personnel shortage in the post, starting forward Miles Plumlee registered two fouls within the game’s first 8:01, forcing him to spend the remainder of the period as a spectator. Krzyzewski experimented with different lineups, playing four guards at times to adjust to Plumlee’s foul trouble and the Hokies’ small but athletic lineup.

Mason Plumlee took advantage of the available minutes in his return to the starting lineup, posting his 11th double-double of the season and his first since Feb. 11 against Maryland.

“I thought tonight was one of Mason’s most intelligent games,” Krzyzewski said. “He talked well, screened well. And he stayed in the ball game, and that was really important with Miles being in the foul trouble that he was.”

Sophomore Josh Hairston also stepped up with four points and three rebounds, making 2-of-3 shots. Playing 17 minutes, he spent more time on the court than he has since Dec. 30 against Western Michigan.

Duke will play in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Saturday, facing third-seeded Florida State who defeated sixth-seeded Miami, both of whom defeated the Blue Devils at home this season.

Despite Thornton’s strong performance Friday, it would be surprising if Duke enters play Saturday with the intent to repeat the formula that carried them to victory in the quarterfinals.

“I don’t think going into the game they expected Tyler Thornton to shoot 16 shots,” Greenberg said. “I don’t think they expected him to take 13 3-point shots. They couldn’t get a shot, and that’s the shot they ended up getting.”

Discussion

Share and discuss “Thornton shoots Duke to ACC semifinals” on social media.